Inspection and repair of defects in a surface is often a costly and time-consuming procedure. For example, a single aircraft wing may include thousands of fasteners embedded in a carbon fiber panel. Each of the fasteners may be covered with a dielectric top to prevent lightning strikes from entering the fuel tank area. Each of the dielectric tops may be covered with a layer of paint.
Current inspection and repair is a completely manual operation. It is necessary to visually inspect each dielectric top to determine whether it is cracked. Cracks that are greater than 0.1 inches in length may require repair or replacement of the dielectric top. Once it is determined that a cracked dielectric top must be repaired, is necessary to manually remove the top, clean and prepare the exposed fastener surface, apply fresh dielectric material, and paint the material when hardened.
Such manual operations are time-consuming and costly. The completely manual nature of the operation may result in repair quality issues. The large amount of time required to inspect and repair dielectric tops on an aircraft in this manner may result in an aircraft being out of service for extended periods of time.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method for automating the inspection and repair of defects in a surface. Further, there is a need for automating the process of detection and repair of cracks and dielectric tops on the surfaces of aircraft wings.